The manufacture of flavoring compositions for food products has been an important industry for many years. Natural flavors derived from vegetables, fruits, spices, and other sources have been items of commerce which are combined with other foods to provide a wide variety of tastes and textures for the consumer.
One highly desirable flavor is the flavor of fresh roasted peanuts. The peanut, or groundnut as it is called outside the United States, is the seed or fruit of the peanut plant. It comprises a mixture of peanut oils and peanut solids. The oils are primarily hydrophobic fatty materials which, in combination with the substantially proteinaceous peanut solids, can provide pleasing peanut flavor and texture in food systems. Because of their hydrophobic nature, however, the peanut oils tends to separate from the predominantly hydrophilic peanut solids when ground peanuts are mixed in many food systems. Therefore, hydrophobic peanut oil and hydrophilic peanut solids pose a significant problem which needs to be addressed in the formulation of peanut-containing compositions, especially when peanut butter or other peanut-derived compositions having hydrophobic peanut oil components are added to water-based foods.
Because aqueous systems generally mix poorly with the hydrophobic peanut lipids, an unstable system is generally created when aqueous systems are mixed with peanut-containing compositions. As these unstable mixtures destabilize, the hydrophobic peanut lipids and the hydrophilic peanut solids tend to separate. The tendency towards separation is called "gravitational instability." Conversely, peanut compositions whose hydrophobic and hydrophilic components resist separation are considered "gravitationally-stable" compositions. They are gravitationally stable because gravity is not able to cause the denser (heavier) hydrophilic, substantially proteinacious, solid material to separate from the less dense lipophilic lipid phase. The separation of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic peanut components, whether it occurs in aqueous systems or otherwise, can result in deleterious changes in the odor and flavor of the product. Undesireable changes in texture present another problem, as does the appearance of such a product, which may lessen the product's appeal to the consumer. These problems can result from both the direct physical separation of components, as well as from resulting microbiological and oxidative deterioration.
One attempt to solve the problem of combining peanuts in food systems involves separating the peanut oil from the proteinaceous peanut solids and combining the separate solid peanut component in the food system. The separation of peanut oil from peanut solids, however, can substantially reduce the peanut flavor.
Other attempts to solve this problem have led those skilled in the art to gravitationally stabilize the components of these products through the use of fats and oils. The fats and oils which are typically used are solid or semi-solid at room temperature, or have been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated to make them so. Those skilled in the art of utilizing peanut flavor in food development, however, have shown concern for the undesirable effect these oleaginous stabilizers have on peanut flavor. While these stabilizers may lessen the development of undesireable oxidative off odors and off flavors, as well as the unacceptable textural changes due to the separation of the lipid phase, the peanut flavor can be masked by the presence of these stabilizers. Additionally, products stabilized with these oleaginous stabilizers tend to destablize at temperatures above 30.degree. C. when the solid and semi-solid stabilizers liquify.
Efforts to stabilize hydrophilic peanut flavorings using non-oleaginous stabilizers have also been made. Avera (U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,482) produced a gravitationally-stabilized hydrophilic peanut flavoring composition for incorporation in water-based food systems. The Avera composition is stabilized with edible polyhydroxy alcohol compounds such as sorbitol, mannitol or other cyclic or straight-chain alcohols. Although these non-oleaginous stabilizers do not appear to mask the peanut flavor as strongly as the oleaginous stabilizers do, they have flavor of their own which may detract from or diminish the natural peanut flavor.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for a gravitationally-stabilized hydrophilic peanut-containing composition that is compatible with aqueous food systems. Peanut flavorings are needed which resist the development of off odors, off flavors, and undesireable textural attributes, while providing a true peanut flavor. A need also exists for a gravitationally-stabilized, lipophilic, peanut-containing food product which resists the deleterious effects of phase separation cited above while effectively preserving its peanut flavor.